Rumination is associated with a reduced efficiency in cognitive control: an ERP study

Ruminative negative thought is a characterizing feature of several clinical disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, insomnia disorder). Emerging evidence suggests that impaired cognitive control processes might underlie ruminative thinking. More specifically, using the AX- Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT), we found previously that trait rumination was associated with a reduced cognitive control efficiency (i.e., slower reaction times on trials where increased control is required), whereas trait rumination was not associated with a reduced performance (i.e., task accuracy on these trials). In the current ERP experiment, we aimed to further investigate the role of trait rumination on the dynamic interplay of proactive control (i.e., maintenance and updating of task-relevant information) and reactive control (i.e., interference monitoring and resolution) using the AX-CPT. Behaviourally, we found in line with our previous study that trait rumination was associated with slower reaction times on non-target trials (i.e., AY, BX, AY trials). However, trait rumination was not associated with a decreased accuracy on these trials. In contrast to our previous study, trait rumination was in this study also associated with slower reaction times on target trials (i.e., AX-trials). Again, and in line with our previous study, trait rumination was not associated with a reduced accuracy on target trials. The results of the ERP indices for reactive and proactive control are currently being analysed and will be discussed during this presentation.